The
Alpine orogeny or
Alpide orogeny is an
orogenic phase in the Late
Mesozoic (Eoalpine) and the current
Cenozoic that has formed the mountain ranges of the
Alpide belt. These mountains include (from west to east) the
Atlas, the
Rif, the
Baetic Cordillera, the
Cantabrian Mountains, the
Pyrenees, the
Alps, the
Apennine Mountains, the
Dinaric Alps, the
Hellenides, the
Carpathians, the
Balkan Mountains, the
Taurus,the
Armenian Highlands, the
Caucasus, the
Alborz, the
Zagros, the
Hindu Kush, the
Pamir, the
Karakoram, and the
Himalayas. Sometimes other names occur to describe the formation of separate mountain ranges: for example
Carpathian orogeny for the
Carpathians, Hellenic orogeny for the Hellenides or the
Himalayan orogeny for the
Himalayas.